An enjoyable, straightforward thriller, "Red Eye" is the latest from director Wes Craven, and it's a fine, enjoyably brisk (85 minutes) affair. The film stars Rachel McAdams ("Wedding Crashers") as Lisa, a hotel manager who, as we see in an early scene, has everything together, easily fielding calls from work when trying to get to the airport.

However, she'll wish she'd taken Amtrak. While waiting in the airport for the flight to take off, she meets Jackson Rippner (Cilian Murphy), a guy with an eerily calm manner about him. The small talk continues when the two find their way onto the plane, and - oddly enough - happen to be sitting next to each other.

While Jackson talks the nervous Lisa through takeoff, the topic changes moments later, as he reveals to her that her father is being held hostage, and that he needs her help in order to murder an official that's going to be staying at the hotel she works at. Thus begins a battle of wits between Lisa and her kidnapper that extends throughout the plane ride and after arrival. I wn't spoil any more of the movie than that.

McAdams may have come this far in comedies (excellent in "Mean Girls", wasted in "Wedding Crashers" and in the moderately enjoyable romantic drama "Notebook", but she's marvelous in this feature, and portrays the emotions of the character in a rich and compelling way - instead of being a damsel in distress, we always see her wheels spinning, trying to stay one step ahead of Murphy's character. Murphy, on the other hand, turns in a quietly stellar effort, making the character menacing without turning up the volume.

"Red Eye" does have its share of logic issues and the occasional plot hole, but I didn't think that it was a major concern, and the film's rapid-fire pacing (amped up even further in the last half hour) keeps one from pondering any story issues for too long. It may not be a hugely memorable film or one of the year's best, but it does function as a solid, suspenseful thriller.